APITemplate.io API vs Lorem Picsum API

Two free Photography APIs compared on access, reliability and developer ratings, using data from our daily health checks.

The verdict

	APITemplate.io API	Lorem Picsum API
What it does	Dynamically generate images and PDFs from templates with a simple API.	Images from Unsplash. A free photography API by Lorem Picsum.
Provider	APITemplate.io	Lorem Picsum
API key	Required	Not needed
HTTPS	Yes	Yes
CORS (browser calls)	Yes	Unknown
Status today	Online · 706 ms	Online · 536 ms
Uptime (30 days)	Up	Up
Developer rating	Not rated yet	Not rated yet
Price	Free / free tier	Free / free tier

Dynamically generate images and PDFs from templates with a simple API.

Auto-Generate PDFs and Images from Reusable Templates with Our Powerful API

Strengths

Images from Unsplash. A free photography API by Lorem Picsum.

Lorem Ipsum... but for photos

Strengths

Prototyping or a tutorial? Pick the one that needs no API key.
Calling from a web page? You need CORS. Otherwise route requests through your own server or a serverless function.
Going to production? Favour HTTPS, a strong uptime record and a provider with clear rate limits and terms. Check each API's docs before you commit.
Still unsure? Both are free to try: send one request to each and compare the data you get back.

APITemplate.io API requires an API key; Lorem Picsum API doesn't, so Lorem Picsum API is quicker to try.

APITemplate.io API supports CORS, so front-end JavaScript can call it directly. Call the other from a server.